SO sorry it's taken so long for an update! Life got a little crazy there for a bit. BUT I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. Things definitely start heating up here, and it's hilariously ridiculous tension. Enjoy, and continue adding reviews and let me know what you want to see happen next!

Chapter 8

Hermione quickly set to work in the library, focusing on the books and not on her encounter with Lucius.

What was he playing at? If this game was going to continue, they were going to have to establish some ground rules.

"Like not bothering me at work," Hermione grumbled under her breath as she heard the door swing open.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, turning to face him.

Lucius raised his eyebrows at her defensive posture as he approached. "Looking for a book. In my own library, I might add."

"Oh…of course…" Hermione muttered. Idiot, of course. Get a grip. He's not just marching around the house trying to kiss you.

Lucius looked around, clearly overwhelmed by the avalanches of books Hermione had created.

"What are you looking for? I might be able to help find it."

"Simple Herbal Brews. It should be bound in blue leather."

Hermione approached the nearest bookshelf and scanned the titles. Lucius took the one across from her, and they searched in silence, but she was acutely aware of his company.

After a few minutes of searching, she finally found a book toward the top of the shelf that matched Lucius's description. "I think I see it!"

Hermione popped up on her tiptoes and strained to reach it, fingers just brushing the edge of the book.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and she watched as a hand gently pushed hers out of the way and withdrew the book from the shelf.

Turning around, Hermione found herself face to face with Lucius's chest. He had never been this close to her, and she found herself frozen, watching him thumb through the book while paying her absolutely no mind.

"Yes, this is it. Thank you, Miss Granger."

As Hermione remained pinned between the bookshelf and Lucius, her hands pressed up against the books behind her, and a sudden burst of flame made both of them jump. Hermione withdrew her right hand quickly and yelped.

A particularly sinister looking black-bound book was smoldering at her touch. Lucius quickly pulled the book from the shelf and threw it on the nearby table, and the fire died.

"Remember what I said about being careful what you touch in here?" he reprimanded, but Hermione just cradled her hand and glared at him.

"Well I would have had you not been…"

"Been what?" Lucius raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Been…so close."

"Does my proximity make you nervous, Miss Granger?"

"…I just don't like letting Death Eaters get within striking distance, that's all."

Lucius saw through her lie but did not press the issue further. "Let me see your hand."

Hermione hesitantly extended her blistered hand, and Lucius took it gently. He wasn't wearing his usual leather gloves, and Hermione realized this was one of the first times he had ever actually touched her…

He jerked his wand from its casing within his cane, and Hermione involuntarily flinched. A flicker of what Hermione thought might have been genuine distress or remorse flitted across Lucius's face, if only for a second. A beam of light shot from the wand, and Hermione's hand was flooded with warmth as the burn vanished.

"Again, please be careful in here. Many dark artifacts like that one don't appreciate being disturbed by someone of your blood status, and it would really damage my new reputation if the Ministry had to come and sweep your ashes up off the carpet."

"Yes, yes, you want them to see you as a Mudblood sympathizer, I know."

Lucius's brow furrowed, and he turned to leave but stopped himself. Turning back to Hermione, he asked, "Doesn't it bother you?"

"What, being used by you to achieve your own nefarious ends?"

Lucius narrowed his gaze. "You are not innocent in this game either, Miss Granger. You can quit at any time, yet you choose to play on." Hermione was silenced at this. "I was referring to the use of that word."

"Mudblood?"

Lucius nodded.

"Well, between you and your son I've certainly heard the term enough. But after all that I've been though, all that I've seen, it puts things in perspective. The word doesn't have power over me anymore."

Lucius smiled thoughtfully before murmuring, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. Those were the first words you ever spoke to me."

Hermione was completely taken aback. Flourish and Blotts…

"Yes…I suppose they were."

Lucius merely nodded before finally saying, "Good luck, Miss Granger, and be careful."

The library doors shut with a deafening echo, and for some reason, Hermione felt alone.

break

"Let's do something this evening."

Hermione broke the silence at dinner days later. She and Lucius had been sitting quietly, hardly acknowledging one another. Hermione wasn't sure about Lucius, but she knew why she was silent. She was worried that she was enjoying their game a little too much, of where it would lead, of what pain and confusion it would cause…but suddenly those words tumbled out of her, and it was too later to take them back.

"Something?" Lucius asked, raising his eyes to her and shooting her a lascivious glance.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of something."

"Good. The only things I do at night anymore are drink and sleep, anyway."

Hermione snorted. "Well, I was merely thinking of something in between."

"Such as…?" Lucius prompted.

"I don't know…don't you have something here? Playing cards? Wizard's chess? Even a Weasley product?"

"I may be a changed man, Miss Granger, but I will never let anything of a Weasley nature into this house."

"Too late," Hermione spat, and Lucius was taken aback before remembering how Hermione had ended up on his doorstep in the first place.

"Touché…Well, I would never purchase anything from a Weasley, we'll put it that way. As for the playing cards, that is far too Muggle for a Malfoy. And I do have a chess board but no more pieces; they've all destroyed one another at this point."

Hermione sighed. "Well I want to do something. I love books, but being cooped up alone in the library all day every day is slowly driving me insane."

It was true. Hermione enjoyed her work, but as she saw less of Lucius over the past few days, she thought more of Ron. Her mind wandered to what he would be doing, when he would be visiting their friends, and where Lavender was during it all. He had not tried to contact her again since the first letter he had sent her, which she had promptly burned in the fireplace. Now that the anger had burnt itself out, all Hermione could feel was sadness.

This was bound to result in bad decisions when combined with the cunning of a Malfoy, but Hermione was slowly becoming so despondent and desperate that she didn't really care.

"I understand," Lucius said. "I have been a little scarce as of late…I don't know if you would be interested, but I do have an old billiards table we could try to blow the dust off of."

"Billiards?" Hermione raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Cards is too Muggle for you, but you have a pool table?"

Lucius rolled his eyes. "It is, at its heart, a gentleman's game, Miss Granger. Excellent for high society gatherings with gambling men and beautiful women alike."

Hermione's eyes flared. Issue the challenge… "Are you alluding to something, Mr. Malfoy?"

Lucius's eyes met hers. "Merely that the game is more enjoyable if one's partner is…suitably dressed."

"It also significantly tilts the odds in the dressed party's favor," Hermione retorted.

Lucius paused, almost debating whether or not he would be the first to cast the gauntlet.

"…it significantly depends on the beauty of the girl, Miss Granger."

That was all she needed.

"Billiards it is then. One hour?"

Lucius smiled wickedly, knowing that she had to accept his challenge. "I am admittedly looking forward to it, Miss Granger."

break

Hermione went back to her room immediately. She had to master the appearance of trying to look pretty without looking like she was trying.

"What are you doing…?" she muttered, looking through the armoire for an appropriate outfit. "He isn't worth your time. He doesn't even like you! You certainly don't like him…" For once, Hermione tried to shut off her brain. She finally convinced herself that her temporary interest in impressing Lucius Malfoy must revolve around some strange childhood trauma and her delicate self-esteem that had been destroyed in her break up, and she left it at that.

Hermione eventually settled on a nightdress. It made sense to change into after dinner and wasn't indecent in length or coverage, but it was made from black silk with slender straps and did wonders for her figure. She donned a dainty diamond necklace to attract attention to the proper place, and found a pair of basic black kitten heels. Add a little makeup and hair straightening magic, and Hermione felt a bit ridiculous and knew that Lucius would see right through her ruse of "not trying to look nice," but she was beginning to wonder if she actually cared.

Looking herself over once more in the mirror, Hermione strutted out the door and made her way to the room Lucius had described, located just down the hall from the study.

As Hermione entered the room and approached the green felt table, she saw Lucius was already selecting a cue from the wall. He turned to look at her, and again that flicker of surprise crossed his face for only a moment, but Hermione was satisfied.

Hermione was admittedly surprised at Lucius's outfit as well. He was still in a buttoned shirt and slacks, but he was in a black silken smoking jacket as well.

"We match," Hermione finally said, sounding disgusted.

Lucius chuckled, "So we do, Miss Granger. Shall you break, or shall I?"

Hermione wandered over to the sticks along the wall, selecting a medium length cue.

"I will."

"Very good."

Lucius placed the ball on the table, stepping back to allow Hermione her shot.

"So what's the deal with these? Do the balls devour one another? Explode on impact?"

Lucius rolled his eyes, but he smiled. "Just a regular game of billiards, I'm afraid, Miss Granger."

"Then what's our wager? What's at stake?"

Lucius shook his head. "I'd be a fool to take the bet. A woman playing billiards should always be the one to win, if she truly knows how to play, that is."

"You mean…by bending the rules?" Hermione asked, bending herself over the table and lining up her shot while shooting a look at Lucius.

Lucius smirked. "If you are referring to a woman using various assets to distract her male counterparts, then yes, Miss Granger."

Hermione turned back to her cue and made a clean break, sinking one ball into the corner pocket.

"Stripes, it would seem."

Hermione walked around the table slowly, enjoying the sound of her heels on the stone and the stony look Lucius was giving her. As she lined up her next shot, she saw Lucius in front of her and knew where his eyes would wander…

"Damn," Hermione swore as the ten bounced back and forth in front of the pocket before coming to a stop.

Lucius took his spot, sizing up the cue ball. He had said nothing about the effect the game had on men's figures, but Hermione was beginning to find herself distracted by the movement of his fitted trousers as he bent over the table…

Lucius sunk the three into the center pocket, waking Hermione from her reverie. Determined not to let Lucius beat her so easily, she watched where he was lining up his shot and went to stand in front of him.

Number one went into the top corner. He wouldn't break that easily…

As Lucius examined the angle to sink the six, Hermione casually reached for a piece of chalk nearby and began innocently rubbing it on the head of her cue.

Lucius glanced up at her before doing a double take as she slowly blew the dust off the tip of the stick.

"Miss Granger, your pathetic attempts at distraction are positively childish."

But he missed the six.

Hermione smirked. "But it seems they work on you after all."

Lucius sniffed. "If you are done with the chalk, I believe I might actually need to use some."

Hermione tossed it across the table, and he caught it. In the midst of polishing the tip of his cue, Lucius was interrupted by Hermione brushing against him as she positioned herself for her shot. He moved away quickly, but Hermione was smirking; she knew his eyes were on her.

As she aimed for the next striped ball on the table, she saw Lucius walk over to one of the chairs and untie his smoking jacket, letting it fall elegantly from his shoulders. Turning back to face Hermione, Lucius undid the two buttons at the top of his shirt, exposing just the edges of his muscled chest…

That bastard.

Lucius Malfoy was not one to be outdone.

"I found myself getting a little warm, Miss Granger, do forgive me."

Hermione scowled, shot, and missed. "I see you're not afraid to bend the rules either."

"You mean to stoop to your level?" Lucius undid another button. "Why, Miss Granger, I don't understand what would make you think that." He grinned devilishly.

"What makes you even think that something so 'childish' would work on me?"

Lucius gestured to her botched shot, and when he looked back to Hermione he saw a blush creeping over her face.

"Your turn…" Hermione said timidly, and he obliged.

The rest of the game continued in the same manner, the two toying with one another but never touching, never impolite, never serious.

Finally, only the eight ball remained, and Hermione was up to shoot. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, but she felt Lucius behind her, and the distraction was too much.

She heard Lucius take a contented breath as she missed the eight, but as he lined up his shot, Hermione began running her fingers up and down the wood of her pool cue, and he missed as well.

"Miss Granger, your pathetic attempts to distract me are becoming even more asinine."

Hermione ignored him, called out the pocket, and sunk the eight. Lucius bowed his head, conceding victory.

"Well done, Miss Granger."

Hermione smiled, more proud of herself than she should have been. She approached Lucius, and he stiffened, not knowing what to expect. She drew closer and closer until they were face to face, and there was a moment of stillness as the two just stared, sizing one another up.

Then, Hermione reached past him to place her cue back in the rack on the wall. But as she pulled back, her brown eyes caught him in her gaze, and she murmured, "Checkmate, Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius turned to watch her leave, shaking his head in surprise and disappointment, yet finding himself satisfied all the same.